What effects did the “Red Scare” in the 1950s have on American society?
First, the term “Red Scare” is misleading. It is most often used ironically, leading one to believe that there was really no justification for fearing “reds” or communists, and that claims by Senator Joe McCarty that they had infiltrated all levels of our government were entirely bogus. Nothing could be further from the truth. For the proof, one need only to refer to the Venona Project, which deciphered Soviet messages to their operatives in the US. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VENONA_project The threat was real, not a “scare”, making the question inappropriate.
